


Two by Two

by WildcatPacer



Category: Hunger Games Trilogy - Suzanne Collins
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-01
Updated: 2017-08-01
Packaged: 2018-12-09 19:28:55
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Underage
Chapters: 6
Words: 12,576
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11675565
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WildcatPacer/pseuds/WildcatPacer





	1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1: Quell Announcement**

I stride into Victors' Village, clad in my father's hunting jacket. It's better than the coat that I finally don't have to use on a regular basis, as the new spring has at last driven away those most stubborn vestiges of winter.

The Village is its own little thriving community in District 12, the poorest region in Panem. Peeta Mellark's and my co-victory in the 74th Hunger Games has given it some needed new life. With my rags-to-riches story, my mother and my sister, Prim, have come here to live alongside me and my fellow three Victors. Cassiope Fletch and Haymitch Abernathy have no living family that I know of, and haven't for years. Peeta's family, a family of bakers, was invited to move to the Village, but declined, citing they had plenty of resources at the Bakery in town.

Everyone has something to contribute. Peeta bakes. I hunt. Haymitch drinks until the liquor runs out. Though she hunted when she was younger, Cassiope has since taken up gardening in her old age. She mostly grows vegetables; they serve as quite the supplement to Peeta's breads. One of these days, I have to take her greens and Peeta's baked goods and make a nice sandwich.

This is where I find her now, in her garden. She's the Victor of the 16th Hunger Games, and at 75, has been alive as long as the Games have been in existence. She smiles when she sees me.

"Katniss, dear! Will you be at my place for the mandatory programming tonight?"

Oh, yes. Tonight they announce the twist for the Third Quarter Quell, or 75th anniversary of the Hunger Games. What a time to be a first-year mentor. At least I'll have a commiserating soul in Peeta. I nod tightly.

"I'll be there."

"And your mother and Primrose are welcome to join us."

"Thanks, but I think they'll watch the programming from our house. But I'll be by. See you later, Cassiope!"

* * *

Most Victors' Villages are tight-knit communities, because there are often so few Victors to populate them. The exceptions, of course, are the Career districts, which at a few points in history have had all or nearly all of the built Village homes occupied. Then, there are the sprawling non-Career districts who score high, like Districts 5 and 7, and to a slightly lesser extent, Districts 4 and 10. But if you have five Victors or fewer, like most other Districts do, it can be a very intimate setting to spend the rest of one's life. And with Peeta's and my win last year, no District has ever had fewer than four Victors. We now tie Districts 6 and 8 for this distinction. Of course, for decades District 12 had the biggest losing streak of all: Cassiope lived here alone for the better part of three and a half decades, then nearly another quarter of a century with only Haymitch for company - which, if I'm being honest, is kind of like living alone, since he's drunk most of the time.

We now all find ourselves in Cassiope's living room, in front of a battered old TV. It still has antennas, so an older model than the flatscreens Peeta and I own. Cassiope could order a new TV from the Capitol if she wanted to, but "that shit costs money." I find it odd that Cassiope never married. Being the first (and for years, only) Victor from District 12, she could have had her pick of anyone in taking a husband. Of course, with how rich she became from winning the Hunger Games, she didn't need to, but almost everyone in District 12 is married and those that aren't - like Mother - are not so by choice. I was going against the grain in making that decision for myself, to never wed, but then Peeta came along and made that choice for me. We'll have to get married, and soon - the Capitol will expect it. And even if we have a toasting initially on the understanding that there is no sex between us, eventually... but I would do it. Have a child by Peeta. Even if the act of sleeping with him would go against my principles, such an act should always be done with someone you care for, if not necessarily love. And I do care for Peeta. He is a kind boy. A good man. I've seen how he interacts with my sister. He is the opposite of abusive and leads a worthy profession. Add in my hunting, and any children of ours wouldn't want for anything. Of course, the pregnancy and childbirth would be painful, but if it brought a smile on Peeta's face, I would go through it all.

Haymitch is now bellowing something about how we're "one big, dysfunctional family." He's wrong for two reasons: a.) there are districts with Villages bigger than ours, and b.) if there is anyone in our motley crew who is dysfunctional, it's him and him alone. It's easy to see why he never married. What woman would want to look at that and say, "That's my husband"? Certainly not Cassiope, who was just 50 when he won at age 16. Too old. And I'm too young and essentially bethrothed. I suppose my mother, who is a peer of his, but it would be an awful choice, even for a remarriage. He would just steal all of her rubbing alcohol for consumption; she'd get nothing done as a Healer. Peeta, however, has whispered to me that he thinks there's something going on between Haymitch and our district escort from the Capitol, Effie Trinket. When he first told me, I nearly laughed out loud. Just because they fought "like an old married couple" does not mean sexual attraction. Peeta and I have had our disagreements, and for me it was never because I was attracted to him.

"It's starting!" Cassiope hisses to us. President Snow takes the podium and begins by welcoming everyone. Then, he summarizes the last two Quell twists:

"On the 25th anniversary, as a reminder to the districts that it was their choice to initiate violence, each district was made to hold a special election, and vote on the tributes who would represent it."

I wonder what that would have been like. Picking the kids who had to go. It is worse, I think, to be handed over by your own neighbors, maybe even family, than by the whims of the Reaping Ball. Cassiope must read my thoughts, for she nods quietly.

"And many districts did betray their own children. They took it as an opportunity to get rid of troublemakers. Undesirables. I don't think even the Career districts had Volunteer Wars that year. A boy from District 8 - Indigo Weaver - won that year, thrown in for being a common thief. His district was quite embarrassed for themselves when he won; they figured he wouldn't come back alive."

"Of all the uncivilized things to do," Peeta mutters darkly, but the President is continuing.

"On the 50th anniversary, as a reminder that two rebels died for every Capitol citizen, the districts were required to send twice as many tributes."

I instantly imagine facing a field of 47 instead of 23. But Haymitch did and he won, a Victory for 12 that is probably the most significant, even more than Peeta's and my co-win last year.

The President is now honoring our Third Quarter Quell by removing the card from an envelope. Without pausing, he reads, "On the 75th anniversary, as a reminder that even the strongest cannot overcome the power of the Capitol, the tributes are to be Reaped from their existing pool of Victors."

Cassiope lets out a choked "No!" Haymitch lets out an angry roar as he hurls a still-half-full liquor bottle at the TV, shattering it and short-circuiting the technology. I hear a shriek - likely Mother - from across the street, for me. Peeta's eyes are filling with tears, looking pained. As for me, I can only run out the door, fleeing like a wild animal being hunted.

* * *

I only make it to the fountain in the center of the Village before I collapse in tears.

What an awful twist. Yes, Victors are our strongest. They're the ones who survived the arena and slipped the noose of poverty that strangles the rest of us. A poverty that would drive people to rebel, as Peeta and I saw on our Victory Tour. And which makes me realize that Snow knows exactly who he wants as the District 12 tributes. Peeta and me. For fucking with him and his precious Games. Because really only one of us should be alive. We all know who would have come out on top, if the Gamemakers had had their wits about them. Me. And that would mean Cassiope would be my only protection and I would face the awful task of either mentoring or competing against Haymitch.  _Haymitch_!

I suppose my family could get on without me. Mother maybe could marry again. She is originally a Merchant, still pretty. She could maybe even have another baby to replace me before reaching the end of her childbearing years. And Prim could pass for a Merchant's child; boys will be lining up to marry her, when she comes of toasting age.

I feel Peeta's comforting touch on my shoulder. I fling myself into his arms. I know what we have to do. If it weren't for us, Cassiope and Haymitch would be facing a guaranteed death sentence, with District 12 barely fulfilling the twist. Which is why -

"We have to save the adults, Peeta! It's us Snow wants anyway!"

"And they're in there, trying to find a way to save us!" He counters. "Cassiope's rationale is that we have life left to live and that they're old."

I stare at him. "Haymitch is only 40!"

"41," my supposed lover corrects.

"He had a birthday?"

"I wanted to throw him a party. He said no. He doesn't like parties."

Cassiope now arrives on her porch. "Both of you, come inside!" We obey, gathering around her kitchen table where Haymitch is starting to drink. Heavily.

"We have to plan strategy. We still have that luxury. Many districts will have at least one gender where only one Victor is available. I think only District 6 is like us - with multiple options for each."

"Or just two," I point out.

"Doesn't matter. We have to put our best foot forward," Cassiope says.

I shake my head sadly. "No, we don't. We know Snow wants Peeta and me. Because of the uprisings."

"Well, he's not gonna get you until Effie says your names! Reapings have been rigged before, but he can't rig one this small! Haymitch and I still have cards to play - and we are gonna play 'em!"

I stay quiet.

"Here's a card we can play," Peeta suggests. "For the next three months, we eat and train like Careers! And you're gonna lead us!" He points to me.

"What, me?"

"Yes, you. You know more about the wilderness than any woman I've ever met!"

Touched by his compliment, I lean across the table and kiss his lips with mine. Filled with a new energy, Peeta smiles. "We start tomorrow." He looks to Haymitch. "We've got a Quell title to defend."

* * *

We stand at the edge of a small lake, in the woods beyond District 12. I pace up and down between Cassiope, Haymitch and Peeta, all in a line.

"Swimming is an important life skill, but also survival skill," I lecture. "And has been used as a test for the arena many times. One that we all have to be ready for." I have to admit that when Cassiope first approached me and admitted that she couldn't swim, I nearly laughed, and offered to teach her privately. But then, Haymitch and Peeta came to me with the exact same problem. I know most folks in District 12 can't swim, as this lake is really the single body of water available, and only illegally. But my father insisted on his family knowing how to swim, teaching me when I was a little girl. Primrose was a baby when she learned. Even Mother, who learned from Daddy early on in their marriage, knows how to swim. And they were wed for five years before having me.

Leaning against a tree, Gale Hawthorne observes us. He wants to smirk, I know it, as I attempt to do the impossible:  _this oughta be good_. He is clearly jealous of Peeta, for how he seems to despise him so, and he's never cared for Haymitch. I don't know how he feels about Cassiope.

Sighing, I strip down to my lingerie. I don't really mind if Peeta sees me: he deserves a free show at least once before he potentially dies. And I try not to let it bother me for the others. Haymitch is grinning like a horny little boy; Cassiope, of a more modest generation, looks uncomfortable. Gale has propped himself against his tree with renewed interest. I refrain from rolling my eyes at him, as I wade into the lake up to my chest.

"Come out to me!"

Cassiope manages a passable doggy-paddle. The men more or less jump in and splash around until they reach me. I reward Peeta with a chaste kiss and Haymitch an affectionate punch on the arm.

"Not bad for beginners. Now, let's focus on the actual strokes..."

The rest of Training goes on like this. I show my companions how to climb trees and hunt, with Gale and occasionally Cassiope acting as my assistants. Haymitch teaches knife-throwing and combat skills. Peeta seems to be at a loss of what useful skill he could teach, confessing one time, "I'm not worth much these days."

I counter him by deeply kissing him in front of everyone, even Gale. "You're worth far more than you realize," I tell him seriously. Desperate to help him and give him some kind of leadership role, I remember he became very skilled at spears last year in the Training Center, so I focus on that. But to actually  _get_  a spear, we have to "borrow" some from the District 12 Armory. No, we don't actually steal them, but if you want to handle anything bigger than a kitchen knife in this town, you have to obtain the permission of the Head Peacekeeper in writing. This Cassiope does for us. Usually, you can only handle dangerous weaponry if you need it for a profession (like the butcher, and my Mother needs some sharp tools for her work, mostly scalpels) or a pursuit like ours. Thread doesn't try to stop us from Training; the Careers do it every year, and perhaps he finds it amusing. On things like our daily jogs through the District, our quartet looks rather silly.


	2. Triumph of the Mentors

**Chapter 2: Triumph of the Mentors**

When we're not exercising, we're receiving help from Effie Trinket. She sends a package in the mail containing videotapes of most of the past Hunger Games. She's also included a list of the living Victors, divided into gender columns. ("Good old Effie!" Peeta chuckles when he sees the T-charts). I notice right away that some districts will have Reapings worse than ours. Also included in Effie's care package is an old newspaper clipping - a poll asking the Capitol citizens who will be the Victor of the Quell. Peeta, myself and Haymitch consistently rank among the favorites. Cassiope is near the middle of the pack, which I feel is a little discriminatory, due to age.

"Where should we start?" Peeta asks as he digs through the tapes.

"Why don't we start at #1?" I suggest.

"We don't  _have_  #1," Peeta explains to me. "The earliest I can find is #... 11?" He pulls out one tape and reads the scrawl along the side. "Mags Flanagan-Cohen, District 4."

I raise an eyebrow at the clearly hyphenated name, even if I can't see the type. "She was married?"

"And one of the few Victors who was," Cassiope tells us. "Good friend of mine. Wonderful old lady."

Peeta and I give her a look. How could anyone who killed in an entire arena be considered a 'wonderful old lady'? I suppose Cassiope could, but that's because we're Twelve and we're a little biased.

"Hey, Cass! I found yours!" Peeta triumphantly pulls another tape from the box. The Number of the Games is 16. The Origin of the Victor is District 12. And the Name of the Victor is Cassiope Fletch.

But when I look at my mentor, I can see she has gone pale with shock. Instantly, I want to shove the tape back in the box and smack Peeta for being so insensitive. I feel like if we did watch it, it would be a huge invasion of Cassiope's privacy. We'll have to watch Haymitch's Games, as it is a Quell and we might pick up something valuable about how they work. But all the same, I try to prolong this inevitability as I rifle through the box. 25...25...

"Is Indigo Weaver's Quell in here?"

"No," Cassiope says quietly. "He's been dead for years, died young. And Effie only sent me tapes of Victors we might have to face."

So Haymitch's Quell is the only Quell we have. Not only does that put us at a disadvantage, but the other districts as well. And it also means that, no matter whether he mentors or is Reaped, the media will pay more attention to Haymitch than usual. Attention that he doesn't want. But I go through the box for 50 anyway. When I find it, I am about to shove 16 back into the box when I hear Cassiope say quietly:

"You can watch mine, dears. It's a good place to start."

"Are you sure?" I demand.

"It was almost 60 years ago, Katniss. Past is in the past."

I already know that's a lie. It hasn't even been a full twelve months for me and Peeta, and the past is most definitely  _not_  in the past. I still have nightmares every night, and only Peeta's arms have been able to calm me down...

Yet I only shrug. "All right." The four of us gather on the couch, Peeta pops the tape in, and leaning my head on his shoulder, I lose myself in the 16th Annual Hunger Games.

The Reaping is shown first. I can tell right away that a 16-year-old Cassiope is stunningly beautiful; if she hadn't been thrown to the malice of the arena, she could have had her pick of the District for a husband, if that's what she'd wanted. When her name is called, it is actually the girl  _beside_  her who bursts into tears and pulls Cassiope in for a hug. Beside me on the couch, Haymitch watches with great interest. One word graces his lips: "Mom..."

I stare. "That's your  _mother_?!"

"Perri. We were best friends. I went to her Toasting many years later. Markus Abernathy was a good man. A tanner by trade," Cassiope explains.

I wonder if that's how Haymitch got so good at handling knives.

"But after she suffered the miscarriage... things were never the same between us."

Haymitch whirls to her. "My mother had a miscarriage?"

"Before you were born. She didn't tell you?"

"N...no," Haymitch stammers, and it's probably the first time I've ever seen the drunk at a loss for words.

At the Chariot Parade, Cassiope is dressed in some ridiculous yellow frock. The President - not Snow, I think his last name is Cobb - makes his speech, and the tributes are whisked into the training center.

Cassiope has to wear the same yellow dress for her interview with a very young Caesar Flickerman. Jesus, how old  _is_  he? And what kind of make-up does he use to hide his age? We hear one or two questions from Cassiope, since she is going to be the Victor.

Then we're into the arena: a frozen tundra. It opens on a frozen lake with high ice walls. Cassiope explains to us that in those days, the arenas were actually walled off with tangible materials, not nearly invisible forcefields, to prevent tributes from trying to run away. Forcefields came into being once the Capitol's technology was advanced enough.

But Cassiope doesn't run away. She doesn't escape, but she doesn't try to get a weapon. The rest of the Bloodbath is predictably awful.

And Cassiope is still running several days later, through the snow. Nine tributes are left; they've largely been dropping at an alarming rate - much faster than in Peeta's and my Games. She has burrowed herself into a tree, a lot like I would have, when she encounters a boy running through the frozen underbrush. It is her district partner, Erik. He is only 13, and the butcher's son, for he holds a bloody meat cleaver, and for a moment I wonder just who he managed to attack or kill to get it dripping so.

Only now, he looks terrified, and seeing Cassiope, begs her for help. She shouldn't be doing anything of the sort this late, but she does.

And it nearly costs her. A pair of Careers - the boy from 1, Baize, and the girl from 2, Ursa, come across them. I don't know what Erik did to make them so angry, but it must have been something, for Ursa jumps on him while Baize holds Cassiope down. He's a typical Career, largely a brute and not very smart. And always thinking with his dick rather than his head. He threatens to rape Cassiope, now matter how much she kicks and screams and tries to fight him off. But she has to watch as Ursa stabs Erik to death.

Unfortunately, this action causes something to snap in Cassiope. In what must be a total accident, she pushes Baize so hard that he falls over... right into the tree she just climbed down from. Ursa, still winded from killing Erik, is not ready for the little girl from Twelve lunging at her in a blind rage. Cassiope manages to knife the girl with Ursa's own weapon, and the girl collapses to the ground, lifeless. At least, Cassiope has a weapon now. More than one weapon. She takes the knife and Erik's meat cleaver, as well as all the backpacks.

One burst of violence, and we've already hurtled down into the Top Six. Erik barely missed the Final Eight, and I have a feeling he probably did it by landing a hit, though not fatal, on Ursa's district partner. That's what got her and Baize so hopping mad. But Cassiope Fletch is still alive with the blood of two Careers on her hands.

She stumbles away with the blood streaking through the snow, crying like a little girl. But even if one of the other tributes comes across it, they daren't follow her.

A few days later, a sponsor sends Cassiope a knife, but it must be more of a reminder and less about praise. There are still six tributes left: The boy from 2, wounded from an attack likely perpetrated by Erik. The girl from 3. The boy from 4. The girl from 8. The boy from 10. And Cassiope. She returns to the Cornucopia, and finishes off the last Career by night. With none of them left living, all the other tributes will return for supplies eventually.

Not expecting an ambush.

She picks them off one by one, killing them almost with something resembling mercy. Why draw out their pain, as she slices the knife across their throats from behind? The girls from 3 and 8 come first, easy pickings. The boy from 10 goes down after that. That leaves the boy from 4 for last, but he too falls.

And, something I only now just realize, Cassiope did all of it with  _Ursa's_  knife. It had just been cleaned, somehow.

Cassiope has the crown placed on her head, and the tape ends.

Peeta and I look to her in disbelief. The kindly old woman sitting next to us killed almost one-third of the entire arena field. Seven deaths is a kill count that many Careers would only dream about.

"Well," Cassiope says blandly, as though we had just watched some innocent nature documentary. "Shall we watch the Quell?"

I notice how she says  _the_  Quell, and not  _a_  Quell. When she really meant  _Haymitch's_  Quell. It's the only one we have. I really don't want to, but the men insist, so now I fast-forward across well over three decades to the 50th Annual Hunger Games.

The District 12 Reaping is shown: more awful than usual because I remember how four have to be chosen, not two. One girl, Maysilee Donner, is very beautiful. And when she is Reaped, Peeta quietly points out to me, "I think that's your mother hugging her." And he's  _right_. I didn't know they were friends. My mother has never mentioned a Maysilee Donner.

When Haymitch is called last of all, I can tell right away that he is something of a looker. I have never been too interested in boys, but all the same he would have turned my head.

The Chariot Parade is next. Maysilee, Haymitch and the other two who are really little ones are stuffed into one chariot like sardines in a sardine can. When the camera pans over to the crowd, I spy a much grayer Cassiope with a man and woman whom I don't recognize. Cassiope points them out to me.

"Mags. And Woof. From 8. He won the year after me."

The interviews are next. I don't know why the Training Scores aren't shown, especially for the tribute who will be Victor, but it's probably not important. Haymitch gets a few answers in, since he is going to be the Victor.

The arena is a Meadow paradise, with intoxicating beauty. But Haymitch isn't fooled. He has a backpack and is disappearing into the trees before most tributes have stepped off their pedestals.

18 tributes perish in the Bloodbath that first day. And for the remaining 30, we quickly discover that everything in the arena that doesn't come from the Cornucopia or fall from the heavens is deadly poisonous. Haymitch stubbornly continues to proceed in the same direction, not tempted by any of the wild foods or water, so he misses a good portion of the action. Four tributes are tempted by the poisonous sustenance and die; several days in, the Snow-capped mountain featured in the arena turns into a volcano, murdering another ten tributes including all but five of the Career pack.

Haymitch suddenly encounters three of these Career survivors in the woods. They are all hulking boys who look a lot bigger than him, but that doesn't faze my future mentor. Pulling his trusty knife, he takes out one of them easily - an Asian boy who takes his own sweet time dying, hands at his throat as he chokes on his own blood. The second tussles with Haymitch, and it only takes suspenseful effort on the latter's part - and a well-placed bite - to overcome him.

Then the third slams a branch into Haymitch's face and brings him down into an execution position. The last Career is about to deliver the death blow when he suddenly coughs up blood and drops to the ground.

"Watching this in real time was horrible on the nerves," Cassiope whispers to me. "I was convinced they were gonna kill him. If Maysilee hadn't shown up..."

Maysilee Donner, armed with a blow dart dipped in the arena poisons and the only other Twelve tribute still alive, emerges from the trees. "We'd live longer with two of us."

"Guess you just proved that," Haymitch concedes, and I know from experience just how much it takes for him to concede a point. "Allies?" She nods.

Only thirteen tributes, including Haymitch and Maysilee, now remain. But the District 12 tributes fight better as a team, winning fierce battles and only eating the food from the dead tributes' packs. The promised bounty of sustenance that isn't poisonous is a great motivator, and they advance far pretty quickly, well past the Final Eight. Yet, Haymitch is doggedly pursuing the same direction. And Maysilee notices. When she refuses to go further without an explanation, Haymitch only says, "Because it has to end somewhere, right? The arena can't go on forever."

By now, only five are still alive: the last living Career girl from 1, a boy from 5, a girl from 7, and Haymitch and Maysilee. Watching in real time, Cassiope must have been pretty proud, to get multiple tributes this far. After using a blowtorch to cut through some hedge groves, the District 12 tributes reach a vast expanse. It looks into a canyon. The edge of the arena.

The camera now acts schizophrenic, as if not sure whether to pull away or keep filming. Whatever has been discovered was not meant to be. Indeed, Maysilee shrugs.

"That's all there is, Haymitch. Let's go back."

"No, I'm staying here."

So Maysilee breaks it off: a controversial decision to me. "Fine. There's five of us left. I don't want it to come down to you and me." Actually, I would. Because then Twelve is at least guaranteed a win, no matter which Top Two challenger goes down.

But Haymitch merely says, "All right." And Maysilee leaves him behind.

Haymitch kicks a pebble over the side. But to his surprise, it bounces back. Curious, Haymitch tests his theory by throwing a small boulder over. When it boomerangs into his waiting fist, he begins to laugh.

A laugh only cut off by Maysilee's scream.

At first, I think Haymitch is going to find one of the other tributes. But only pink birds are flying away, having stabbed Maysilee through the neck. He holds her hand as she finally dies. I look to see the older Haymitch beside me appearing very pained.

"Have you ever wondered what would have happened if you'd stayed?"

"A question that still haunts me," he admits. "We could have picked off the rest of the field one by one, gotten a full District 12 Top Two, then battled for the crown."

District partner Top Twos are rare, like Peeta and me, but they've happened before. "And who would have won?"

His answer surprises me. "Probably Maysilee."

Later that same day, the girl from 7 is killed by carnivorous golden squirrels. The boy from 5 is hacked to death by the axe-wielding Career, leaving her and Haymitch - District 1 versus District 12 - to vie for the Crown.

The final battle is awful, but Haymitch gives as good as he gets, taking out the Career's eye.

Then she sends the axe into his chest.

Haymitch makes for his cliff, holding his stomach in. He barely makes it, collapsing so Career's axe sails over the edge of the cliff. With no weapon now, Career girl waits, hoping she can just outlast him. But what she doesn't know, and Haymitch does, is that the axe will return. And it does - right into her temple. Barely alive, Haymitch is proclaimed the Victor. A weakened version of him is given the Crown, and the tape ends.

I glance at the somewhat broken man sitting beside me. The fact that he won is remarkable. That he is from District 12 even more so. He robbed the Careers of a pretty significant win, and they'll be looking for revenge this time around, even if Haymitch isn't Reaped. Of the 8 Careers that year, three died in the volcano, but a District 12 tribute had a hand in murdering four more. I don't know what happened to the other, only that she was one of the few tributes who did not die when Haymitch and Maysilee would hunt them down.

"That stunt you pulled with the force field... you turned the arena itself into a weapon... that's almost as bad as us and the berries!" Peeta laughs.

"Almost, but not quite," Haymitch admits dryly. Then he smirks at us and leaves the room. We spin to Cassiope, eager to hear more.

"His mother Perri visited me in the Justice Building after he was Reaped. It was an awkward conversation because by that time, we were... shall we say, estranged? She asked me to save her son. I did it." She gives something between a nervous smile and a grimace. "It wasn't easy, but I did it. And Maysilee is a sore spot for both of us."

"Why?" Peeta wants to know, but that was probably the wrong thing to ask. Cassiope looks him dead in the eye.

"Haymitch considers what he did to Maysilee a betrayal. And the Merchant class resented us for her loss for many years. We've only just paid back that debt by bringing you home, Peeta." And she leaves us to ponder what she has said.


	3. 75th Reaping

**Chapter 3: 75th Reaping**

It is the night before the Reaping. Peeta and I are just returning from our last day of prep: training in the morning, watching one of the last Hunger Games tapes in the evening. In this episode, a Career named Brutus Gunn became Victor, a few years before Haymitch.

"Do you think if there hadn't been the Rule Change, I would be here talking to you?" Peeta suddenly asks.

I can tell by the way he raises it that he expects me to be honest with him. I know he's been thinking about what Cassiope said, about how his living has made up for Maysilee's death. And also Haymitch's theories of what would have happened if the alliance hadn't broken off.

And so, though it is the hardest question I've ever had to answer, I tell him, "No." Even just saying the word brings me great pain. He'd be dead and I'd be a pretty little Victor all by myself.

"But I'd be broken!" I admit to him. "Like one of them!" And I gesture to Cassiope and Haymitch's mansions behind us.

Peeta considers this before finally going into his house. I follow. "Do you know what you're gonna do tomorrow?" I ask.

"All I know is that my fate will be the same as yours," he answers sincerely, and he takes my hand in his. "Where you go, there I'll be."

My eyes prick with tears, and I kiss him. It escalates very quickly, until I am pushing Peeta onto his bed and scandalously mounting him.

Peeta flips us and, finding and not remembering how we undressed each other or why, he pushes into me, and my eyes fill with tears as something deep within my core breaks.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" Peeta gasps.

I stare down at our unified bodies. "Don't be... the first time always hurts for a girl."

He stares at me, impressed by knowledge that I really shouldn't know, if I was being true to myself. And also... "I thought you cut Family Planning class!"

"I did," I admit. "But Mother gave me the lectures anyway."

Peeta grinds into me, and biting my lip, I roll my hips up to match his. He thrusts faster and faster, until my thighs are wrapped around his torso and I urge him on. His bed creaks and sways.

"Harder... faster..." I gasp breathlessly. At last, Peeta groans and ejaculates deep within me. I kiss him to show my approval, and we fall asleep in each other's arms.

* * *

The next morning, I rise lithely from the bed we shared to find Peacekeepers knocking at Peeta's door. I quickly wake my sexual partner and dress him. "Quick! Out the back!"

Peeta uses my rear door and runs around to the entrance to the Village. He spins a yarn to Thread about how he was making a delivery to the bakery, and isn't it a shame they must have just missed each other? Thread is not pleased, but he buys the bullshit as is. Cassiope and Haymitch look relieved. I am brought out, not revealing anything.

"All right! Get moving!" The Peacekeepers roughly force Cassiope and then Haymitch into a line. When they get to Peeta and me, there is some confusion.

"Which one of you came first?" Thread asks, as if he doesn't know. But what amazes me is that he truly _doesn't_ know. Even Peeta looks unsure. Seniority? That's how we're doing this?

Peeta finally suggests I go first, since I'm a lady. Plus, it makes for a nice pattern: girl, boy. The Peacekeepers then guide us into a military march, all the way to the Justice Building.

With the unusual nature of the Quell, the Victors are simply brought to the stage and roped into gendered pens. If Effie calls our name, we just have to move a little to the side to take our place.

But first, Mayor Undersee has to give the Dark Days speech, and read our names:

"The Victor of the 16th Hunger Games: Cassiope Fletch!" Polite applause.

"The Victor of the 50th Hunger Games, or Second Quarter Quell: Haymitch Abernathy!" Applause and a few cheers.

"Such a long title. How appropriate," I tease across the expanse. Haymitch only smirks.

"No longer than yours," he banters back, which the Mayor now reads:

"The Co-Victors of the 74th Hunger Games: Katniss Everdeen and Peeta Mellark!" Wild, deafening roars. The reaction worries me.

I wonder if this whole Reaping is rigged. Rigged Reapings have happened before, but no one pretends to notice because there is the whole district to choose from. If Snow really wanted to rig Twelve's Reaping to ensure Peeta's and my participation, he would have to pull quite a bit of monkey business and hope no one noticed.

Effie now takes the stage, lacking her usual verve. Before her lie two Reaping Balls, completely empty except for two little slips of paper at the bottom of each.

"Welcome, welcome to the 75th anniversary, or Third Quarter Quell, of the Hunger Games! As always: ladies first!" And she's diving into the bowl before I have time to collect myself. "The female tribute from District 12: Katniss Everdeen."

"I volunteer as tribute!" Cassiope totters past me. I am so shocked that I forget to open my mouth. I keep waiting for someone like the Mayor to raise some bullshit about how for District 12, volunteers aren't allowed or something, but no one says a word as Cassiope takes her place.

I look to Peeta across the expanse. His brow is furrowed, and I can see the gears turning in his head. If Cassiope could volunteer for me, who's to say Haymitch wouldn't do the same for him? If that happened, Peeta's only option would be to enter a Volunteer's War.

A Volunteer's War has never happened in Twelve. Ever. It's more common in the Career districts, where fighting in the Hunger Games is seen as an honor. A volunteer or even multiple volunteers can ask to take the Reaped tribute's place. What happens next is like a campaign event, an auction, and a bidding war for a house all rolled into one. The potential volunteers give a speech about how he or she should go in, usually justifying it with some variation of the phrase, "I can win!" Then the tribute who was Reaped in the first place can defend the initial choice. Last year, Primrose could have defended herself against me, her sister, and entered a Volunteer's War, if that's what she'd wanted. But it would have been seen as foolish, given her age.

And this time, it is less a Volunteer's War and more like a Volunteer's Duel. Because there is only one person who could volunteer for Peeta if...

"The male tribute from District 12: Peeta Mellark!"

"I volunteer as tribute!" But Haymitch has to cross Peeta to get to his place.

"I can't let you do that!"

"You can't stop me,  _boy_ ," Haymitch drawls.

"Yes, I can! Haymitch -"

"Stand aside if you know what's good for you!" Haymitch barks. Peeta is shocked into complacency, and Haymitch takes his position. Effie announces the tributes as Cassiope Fletch and Haymitch Abernathy. Then, we move into the Justice Building. Only, not as tributes.

As mentors.

* * *

They had to have planned this beforehand. There is no other explanation. Peeta even alluded about it the night the Quell was announced: they're planning to save us...

We wait outside the holding rooms that house Haymitch and Cassiope with Peeta, Mother, Prim and the Mellarks. Peeta's brother's girlfriend, Julie Fairchild, is also present. The halls are eerily quiet, and the lines to visit the tributes... well, there aren't any.

"This is embarrassing!" Peeta growls. "Where is everybody? Usually, the lines to visit the tributes are out the door!" What Peeta doesn't say is that this is usually because tributes from our district are seen as good as dead, and the visits are more like goodbyes.

The Baker lays a hand on his youngest son's shoulder. "It's different this time, son. Being a Quell. With most of Cassiope and Haymitch's friends either dead or aging, very few people can manage a visit."

Peeta sees right through that. "Not being able to visit Cassiope, I can understand. But Haymitch? The man's 41 years old! Your age, Dad! And Mrs. Everdeen's! Why don't you guys visit him?"

The Baker bites his lip, feeling awkward. Mother looks down at her feet. It is actually Julie who breaks the silence. "Well, I'll go in. I just realized there are a few things I want to say to... that man."

I quickly realize that they aren't very pleasant things, for I soon hear shouting coming from the other end of the oak doors. It is largely muffled, but I do catch one word. A name:  _Rosemary..._

Cassiope and Haymitch are finally brought out, having received only one visitor between the two of them, and we are all escorted with Effie to the train.

Dinner that night is a silent affair. I realize that I know very little about mentoring. And this is a Quell we are getting into. A Quell of Victors. Maybe Peeta and I should have fought harder on our initial Reaping. Being tributes, we can do. But this? Cassiope and Haymitch quickly take over, mentoring the mentors. Mentoring, even though it's technically no longer their job.

"You kids have to know a couple rules about mentoring," Cassiope begins. "The first is the Victor's Code. There are two rules. 1: Absolutely no attachments outside of your blood family."

"Well, we've already broken that!" Peeta jokes, kissing my cheek. I smile wanly.

"And 2:" Cassiope continues, very serious. "Stay alive!"

"Why does the Code forbid attachments?" I want to know.

"To protect yourself as a Victor, but also to protect the ones you love. It's kind of what is sometimes called pre-emptive warfare, think of it as that. It was invented to protect ourselves from the Capitol however we could," she explains.

"But there are Victors who have married, right?" Peeta asks.

"Some - but it's very rare," Cassiope concedes. "Cecelia Sanchez, a Victor from 8, is a perfect example. And her two mentors, Woof Casino and Savera Inchcape, have been married in secret for years. That's even rarer, for two Victors to marry each other; they're the only known case."

Haymitch smiles dryly. "District 8 has never been known to just follow the Code," he explains. "Even Indigo, my counterpart for the Quell, was a little rebellious, though he never wed."

"So were you," Cassiope reminds him. "You were all ready to break the Code for that girl -"

"Haymitch had a  _girlfriend_?" Peeta gawks. Then he bursts out laughing. I shoot him a look and Haymitch looks genuinely hurt.

"Why, Peeta, I'm surprised at you! Yes, I did have a girlfriend, but it was a long time ago. Most Victors who learn about the Code follow it. And they follow it religiously. Like a vow of chastity. But not me. Not for this girl..."

"What was her name?" I press, guessing that I already know the answer.

"Her name was Rosemary," Haymitch smiles. "Rosemary Fairchild."

Now, Peeta nearly topples out of his chair. "You courted a  _Fairchild_? The biggest Merchant family in Twelve? You sly dog! You're ambitious! My brother's girlfriend is a Fairchild!"

"I'm well aware," Haymitch says cordially. "She's the only person who visited me. Cute little thing," although with some of the things I heard, I am sure this is in jest. "She's a younger cousin of Rosemary's. Or would have been."

Uh oh. I don't like where this is going. "What happened?"

"Rosemary and I largely saw each other in secret. Her family didn't know. They couldn't. You and Peeta are an unusual case, given that there is usually animosity between Merchant and Seam, but in my day, it was worse.  _Much_  worse. When Cassiope was a little girl, Merchant and Seam would stage their own little Hunger Games, if you will, right outside the Justice Building. Thrill killings - just because of who people were! Of course, those were aftershocks from the Dark Days and Trump rallies - that's a whole other story; you would have learned about it in your History Class in school."

I know for a fact I never did, as this is the first time I'm hearing this.

"Anyway," Haymitch continues. "When I was Reaped, everyone in the Merchant sector - with Rosemary being the exception - was rooting for Maysilee. I suppose they could have supported Fern, but she was too young; she never would have made it. She died in the mountain volcano fiasco, you remember?" Peeta and I nod. "Then, when Maysilee died and I came back alive, all the Merchants blamed me. Especially the Fairchilds, who happened to be close friends with the Donners. It got harder for Rosemary and I to see each other. So we came up with a plan. We would steal away one night into the woods, have a toasting there, then come back the next morning."

"But don't you also need to sign papers to be married? Assigned a house? At the Justice Building?" I ask.

"You do, but we had a plan for that, too. Cassiope was going to break into the Justice Building and steal the documents for us to sign later. And if she couldn't get back out, we gave her permission to forge our signatures and then file it with the Chief Clerk's materials. He was an old man in those days, about to retire. We were betting he wouldn't know the damn difference who wrote what or when he might or might not have married us."

"But why did you feel the need to get married, even if Merchant and Seam hated each other?" Peeta asks. "You were so young!"

"You're one to talk," Haymitch snorts. "You're going to have a beautiful Capitol wedding to Sweetheart in a few months. But, no, the reason we did it was because Rosemary was pregnant."

" _What_?!" Peeta and I shriek. " _When_?!"

"Two possibilities: either right before I was Reaped, or the night I came home," Haymitch tells us. "Which would have meant Rosemary was either two weeks along, or almost five weeks along. I think I was in the arena for about 19 days. But then..."

Cassiope now picks up the story. "Two weeks after we came home, a posse of Peacekeepers showed up at Haymitch's mansion, which by that time had moved in the entire Abernathy family, and partially Rosemary."

Haymitch nods bitterly. "My mother. My younger brother. My girl. They were all killed."

Peeta stares. "Because of the stunt you pulled with the forcefield!"

"Bingo."

"Anyway," Cassiope continues. "Rosemary had just found out she was pregnant. But the Peacekeepers didn't know that. It would be months yet before she would have started to show, and Haymitch and Rosemary were already planning to keep the baby a secret. Well, word gets back to President Snow that she was pregnant. So what does he do? He  _executes_  all of them. All the Peacekeepers who were at the Abernathy place that night. For being total fuck-ups. That stereotype about how Peacekeepers are loping and stupid and don't think things through? There's a reason that stereotype exists; it isn't nice, but something is always done to make people fit stereotypes that way, and usually, the people being stereotyped do it to themselves. Anyhow, there were sham trials with rigged guilty verdicts, a pomp-and-circumnstance firing squad outside of the Justice Building. Everyone was there.  _I_  was there! Haymitch made damn sure he was in the front row!"

"But that's not fair!" Peeta protests. "The Peacekeepers couldn't have known Rosemary was pregnant! She barely did herself!"

"Peeta, that shit doesn't matter to the President! With Rosemary's death, an opportunity - well, two opportunities - to control a very problematic and still very controversial Victor were gone. Because if Rosemary had lived, and the kid had been born and grown up... the moment it turned twelve, it would have been Reaped for the arena," Haymitch explains.

He's certainly right about that; children of Victors are very popular for the arena, and have rigged many a Reaping. But no child of a Victor has ever become a Victor in its' own right.

Haymitch nods, as if knowing what I'm thinking.

"What did you want to have?" I ask quietly.

"I didn't know. Neither of us knew the sex of the baby at that point. But if I had my druthers, I would have wanted a daughter." He looks to me. "I just never expected I'd get one, 24 years later."

I blink, as if struck between the eyes. "That is literally... the nicest thing you've... ever said to me."

"And I certainly didn't expect you, boy," Haymitch snarls affectionately at Peeta. He smirks and then gets up and starts to amble from the room. But then, he turns back and clicks open a locket with a picture inside.

It must be Rosemary. Her face is rounder than Julie's, but not fat, in a pretty way. Doe brown eyes. A button nose. And flowing brown hair. She was very pretty.

"But I would have thought most Merchants had blond hair and blue eyes."

Haymitch shrugs. "I know. That's one of the things that made her special. She didn't look like a Fairchild. Although there is a tiny resemblance between her and your bro's sweetheart, Peeta - at least in the face. They  _are_  cousins."

The drunk leaves us at last, leaving us all to ponder what he has just revealed.

"One more thing you need to know:" Cassiope tells us. "The Seniority Rule. It was mostly invented for mentoring so new Victors could be groomed, but since Haymitch and I won't be there, you'll have to learn on the job. Often, the Victor who won earliest is given deference, if you want to create an alliance or pool for a sponsor gift. Yet you two present a problem, because which one of you won first? We don't know, and neither will the other mentors."

"Katniss should be deferred to," Peeta offers up immediately.

"OK, but Peeta, you talk better. That's not a criticism of you, Katniss, it's just true." And however politically incorrect or even uncivilized it might sound, Cassiope does speak the truth. I don't do talking well, as I'm not a particularly warm and fuzzy person.


	4. Training and Interviews

**Chapter 4: Training and Interviews**

The media swarms us when we get off the train.

We are rushed to our stylists. Cinna gives me a smile as he sets to work on Cassiope. Peeta and I, meanwhile, try to meet some of the other Victors while we wait. The mentoring ones, anyway. We meet our immediate predecessor, Wade Rankine. He's a Career from District 2 who was initially Reaped for this, but then replaced by a volunteer. Brutus Gunn.

When the Chariot Parades are about to begin, Cassiope and Haymitch are guided into theirs. Cinna presents them both with what look like crowns. Cassiope's is simple, like the kind the new Victor would wear, but Haymitch's looks more like a headdress, with the words Quarter Quell Victor emblazoned on the front.

"I don't want to wear that!" Haymitch balks. "I'll look silly!"

"They had another one commissioned for Indigo Weaver, even though he's dead," Cinna explains gently. "It hangs in the President's mansion."

"That makes me feel  _loads_  better," Haymitch says sarcastically.

"Good," Cinna replies shortly. And he stuffs it on my mentor's head.

Peeta and I have to sit in the stands as the chariots go by. After President Snow makes his speech, we meet up with Cassiope and Haymitch. Many of the Victors, both competing and mentoring, are mingling and talking as if they are old friends. And they are.

An old man suddenly comes up to Cassiope. "Cass!" He actually kisses her on the lips, which she returns gently.

"Hello, Woof," she smiles. Woof Casino of 8 looks to be about the same age as Cassiope, which would make sense, since he won the year after her.

"Hey! What are you doing with my husband?" a woman demands, but it's in jest, as she embraces my mentor. They do air kisses, like girlfriends would do.

"Hi, Savera," Cassiope smiles. "Glad you're not in this."

"Cecelia can handle herself," Savera shrugs. I remember watching her Reaping - one of the few Victors who was married, so she had three little kids she needed to say goodbye to. That's the tragic part of this Quell. With folks like Brutus, Woof, Cassiope and Haymitch as the exceptions, most of the Victors participating either won in the '60s or younger.

Then, suddenly, the man from 11 who lost a hand in the Games he won thirty years ago, Chaff, greets me with a kiss. I pull away, repulsed, as he and Haymitch guffaw.

As we take the elevator to Floor 12, I feel the need to ask Cassiope. "What was going on back there? Between you and Woof?"

She smiles softly. "We were in a brief relationship when I was about your age. We were... young. But it was Savera whom he always truly loved. They married soon after Indigo Weaver won the First Quell. And there was someone who I truly loved back home."

Another story. "Who?" I ask.

She gives me a funny look. "You really wanna know?" I nod, my brow furrowing in confusion. "I had a huge crush on a Lark Everdeen."

I gasp. "My  _grandfather_?" She nods.

"I wanted to marry him."

I find it hard to believe that, in another universe, Cassiope could have been my grandmother. Or the grandmother of a girl similar to me, because if Grandad hadn't married my Grandma, I wouldn't exist. "Why didn't you? What happened?"

"I was a shy girl," Cassiope begins. "I could never pluck up the courage to talk to him. And then... the arena happened. And everything changed. I had to follow the Code. Though in those days, it was never strictly enforced. You remember how Mags Flanagan-Cohen married?" I nod, remembering the 80-year-old woman from 4 who bravely volunteered for a beautiful redhead that is probably not much older than me and Peeta. "She won just five years before I did. And she married because the Code at that time was not something taken seriously. But I was never tempted to break it, the way Haymitch almost did with Rosemary."

"Meanwhile, Woof won, and we became friends when he passed through Twelve on his Victory Tour. The next year, Snow wanted to begin prostituting me out to sponsors. Woof got wind of it, and seduced me. He took my virginity, and I let him. To save me. You should always, if you can, have your first time be with someone you deeply care for. And I did care for Woof. Still do."

I think about how Peeta and I took each other's virginity the night before the Reaping. There's no point in denying it anymore: I  _do_  care for him.

"But that wasn't meant to be. Later, the winter after Haymitch won, your grandmother died. Your grandfather came to me in the night, all distraught. He kissed me and groped me and I let him take me to bed. But I woke up the next morning and realized it was a mistake. So I threw him out."

I must look disgusted, for Cassiope pauses in her story. "I shouldn't be telling you this."

"No, go on!" I beg.

"OK, but you have to understand, these were dark and confusing times. I had a new Victor for the very first time who I needed to protect. And Haymitch's win was very controversial. We had just returned from a very stressful Victory Tour, where people would literally Boo his name. Others called him illegitimate. A trickster. In District 1, as you might imagine, there was practically a riot. They felt they'd been robbed. Because District 12 tributes just weren't supposed to win. And a Quell, no less! How much of this was manufactured by the Capitol, we may never know. But, Rosemary Fairchild and the Abernathys had just been killed; the sham investigation into it and monkey trials were just starting up. Haymitch was starting to drink and it was taking its toll. A relationship with your grandfather would never have worked. Besides, I don't believe he truly loved me back; he was just lonely."

I gulp. "Would someone have tried to... assassinate  _Haymitch_?"

"For the first couple of years, it was in my mind," Cassiope answers, most seriously. "For instance, as we were watching the firing squad kill those Peacekeepers for murdering the Abernathys and Rosemary, there was a group of Fairchilds a few people down from where Haymitch was standing in the front row. And they were all glaring at him. Here they were, watching vigilante justice being done to the people who murdered one of their family, and they were glaring at Haymitch. When Rosemary's death was first learned, the whole relationship between her and Haymitch came out. The baby, all of it. Someone from the Fairchild clan could have easily knifed him there, if they'd really wanted to. So when it was over, I lunged for Haymitch and grabbed him and we ran out of there, back to the Village. But everyone eventually left him alone for one reason, and one reason only: we needed him. To mentor the male tribute. I needed him, because until then, I had mentored both tributes on my own."

"Anyway, fast forward three years, and your mother marries your dad. Merchant and Seam weddings had not happened in years. It caused quite a stir. Your mother's family was deeply upset, and so was most of the Merchant class. It is said that your mom was so beautiful, that even some of the Fairchilds were jealous. So, the Merchants come to me and Haymitch."

"Why?" I ask.

"Most Victors are considered to be in a separate economic class from the others in a district, if there are other economic classes, and sometimes there aren't. That being said, the Merchants wanted Haymitch and I to extend our influence and break up your parents' marriage. I refused, because I didn't really know the Everdeen boy, and a part of me still loved Lark too much to go after his son, even though he himself wanted me to.  _Lark_  wanted me to,  _begged_  me to. That was sort of the last straw for me after that. And Haymitch didn't want to get involved. He was still grieving, and your mother had actually been a classmate of his in school. She was one of the few people, other than Rosemary Fairchild, who was actually nice to him, and he didn't want to betray that by breaking up your mother's marriage."

The elevator dings and we get off in silence. "Thanks, Cassiope, for telling me all that. It was very revealing."

She smiles. "You're welcome. And you need to know who you are."

I go to bed that night in Peeta's arms, the stories I have heard swirling in my head.

* * *

Training goes by in a blur. For the next three days, Peeta and I begin learning how to work the phones with Effie's guidance. The sponsors are itching to see Haymitch put up a fight to defend his legendary title, and many are fascinated by Cassiope. Both have been national celebrities for years.

And the buzz goes into the stratosphere when the Scores are broadcast. For both of my mentors make Hunger Games history: perfect scores of 12. I am terrified, because that means Haymitch and Cassiope are now #1 and #2 on the Careers' Most Wanted List. They'll be thirsting for blood, especially District 1 for Haymitch, to settle an old score going back a quarter-century. But I'm not worried about the brother and sister pair from 1. The sister, Cashmere, is a blonde bimbo, and Peeta reports to me that after meeting Gloss, the brother, when picking up after training one day, he can conclude that the man is "as retarded as a rock." Actually, the correct phrase is 'dumb as a rock' but I don't feel the need to redirect my fiancé. And anyway, these two only won consecutively when Peeta and I were small children. It's actually Haymitch's peer from District 2, Brutus, who I'm worried about. I remember his episode, because it was the last one my allies and I watched. He won before Haymitch but after Chaff. Which was it... 47? 48? I don't remember. But I do remember how Brutus savagely beat the girl from 12 to death when there were only three tributes left. Her bronze medal, for placing in those Games, hangs in the Justice Building back home, right alongside the gold ones for Cassiope, Haymitch, Peeta and myself.

At the interviews, everyone falls in love with Cassiope, whom Caesar calls 'The Little Hunter', and the host marvels at how she killed three of the four Careers in her Games. Haymitch follows to huge roars, with a smattering of boos from fans of the Ritchson-Schlund twins, as he is the last Victor of a Quell, one worth two arenas. It's a significant win, probably the most significant District 12 has ever had, even more than Peeta's and my unprecedented co-Victory last year. When Caesar asks him about his chances, Haymitch only says, "I stand by what I said in our last interview: I figure my odds will be roughly the same." Then he smirks arrogantly, to huge applause.

From where I am seated in the front rows, I can look up to see Snow in the President's box. One of his predecessors, back when Panem was the United States of America, was actually murdered in that box, centuries ago now. I think this studio is formerly known as the Ford's Theatre...

I am sure he is mad that he couldn't gerrymander the Reaping for District 12. To ensure Peeta and I went back in. But perhaps the Reaping was rigged not by Snow, but by Effie. Did she make sure to select Peeta's and my names, in the hopes that Cassiope and Haymitch, and only Cassiope and Haymitch, would - could - volunteer for us? I don't know.

The nightmares are merciless that night.


	5. Quell of Champions

**Chapter 5: Quell of Chamipons**

We see Cassiope and Haymitch off on the hovercraft early the next morning. Haymitch gives Peeta a man's hug and tousles his hair. Then, he dares to peck my cheek.

"Thank you, Haymitch... for everything," Peeta expresses.

I hug Cassiope close. "Give me great-grandchildren," she tells me.

"Ones you'll get to see!" I insist, to bolster her spirits. I don't count Cassiope out. I treat her chances as equally as Haymitch's, previous Quell or not.

After they leave, Effie leads us into the Mentors' Bar. We meet Pliny Arausio from District 7, who won just before Wade Rankine. His mentor, Johanna Mason, is the only living female Victor from 7.

At 10 AM, to much cheering, the arena goes live on the TV screens. It is a vast jungle, with the Cornucopia on an island in the middle of a miniature sea. Rocky spokes jut out from the island, creating watery wedges that hold two tribute pedestals each. Cassiope is in one with her friend, Woof, of 8. They reach for each other across the expanse in friendship. They won't kill each other. In the next wedge over, I can see Brutus Gunn looking to Cashmere.

Haymitch isn't so lucky. He's ended up in a wedge with Daniel Bernhardt, the only male Victor from District 9. He's a professional wrestler - I remember watching his Games. It was the 44th, just before Chaff's, because Daniel is in his 40s but older than Haymitch. I know Daniel wouldn't hesitate to kill Haymitch, if given the opportunity.

The gong sounds. Brutus is one of the few tributes who dives in immediately. I wonder if many of the Victors can swim, and feel thankful I thought to teach my mentors and Peeta. Brutus swims right for the nearest rocky spoke, which is the only thing separating him from Cassiope and climbs aboard. Thinking he might try to leap into their wedge, Cassiope leaps into the water, and accidentally knocks Woof in after her.

Haymitch, meanwhile, dives in and tries to sprint swim towards shore, but Daniel pursues him. The two aging Victors quickly get into a tussle, clumsily treading water. It would be funny if Daniel was not so strong, but Haymitch is actually a pretty even match for him, despite the booze.

Cassiope now begins her determined doggy paddle to the island, past Woof and where Brutus is the first to reach the horn. In fact, all the Careers have largely taken the island for themselves and simply have to lie in wait. But there is someone else, bullying them away to get supplies: Finnick Odair, the handsome young man from District 4 who won a decade ago at the tender age of 14, the youngest ever. He has a trident and seeing Cassiope reach the shore, runs to her after impaling the man from 5.

For a moment, I think he is going to kill her, but instead he shows her some kind of gold bangle, and hauls her out of the water like she is no more than a puppy. They then run around, dodging the Careers and do the same for Finnick's 80-year-old mentor, Mags.

"Where's the drunk?" Finnick bellows. Seeing the tussle with Daniel Bernhardt, he dives right in and swims for them. With the assist, both men manage to drown Daniel and swim for shore. Then, the foursome - District 4 and District 12 - disappear into the jungle.

They run for most of the day, pausing to rest only when it is late afternoon. Just then, I see the forcefield of the arena, and realize our band is heading straight for it. Peeta is engaging a sponsor, so I whirl to the District 4 mentors. Ron Stafford, specifically. "Do something!"

"They'll find it," Ron says. He seems unconcerned.

But he should be. Especially after Haymitch walks right into it and is knocked unconscious. Maybe more than that... Finnick performs some strange maneuvers, like he is kissing Haymitch or something. After a few agonizing moments, Haymitch actually awakens.

Eight cannons later sound as District 4 and District 12 are making camp. Then the faces appear:

The man from 5 is first. The man from 6. Woof. Cecelia. Daniel Bernhardt. The woman from 9. The woman from 10. The woman from 11, named Seeder.

Cassiope looks crestfallen over Woof's death, and must wonder if it was partially her fault, since she knocked him into the water. But at least she has Mags, her other good friend, here with her. The tributes go to sleep while Finnick takes watch.

He rouses them up, many hours later, screaming, "The fog is poison! RUN!" He carries Mag for a piece, while Haymitch carries Cassiope, with difficulty. Something about the fog makes everyone's limbs go funny, like their nerves are being shot. At last, Finnick collapses.

"I can't do it, Mags," he moans.

She kisses him. Right on the lips, and then marches into the fog. Cassiope yells for her friend to come back, until the cannon sounds. The remaining trio manage to outrun the fog, but barely.

I learn that one more cannon sounded during the night while Peeta and I were asleep. That makes thirteen tributes left.

But our tributes' troubles are far from over. They run into some monkeys, which they fight off bravely before retreating for the beach. Only an interference from the woman from 6 saves Haymitch. She takes a monkey bite for him.

The exhausted trio soon meets up with another: District 3, Beetee and Wiress, who look a little older than Haymitch. And Johanna Mason, the Victor from 7. Apparently, her district partner was the cannon from early that night.

The two trios merge and take over an abandoned Cornucopia island. Wiress is babbling like she is in shock. "Tick, tock..."

But then Cassiope realizes it's a clue. The entire arena is rigged like a clock, with a new danger coming off every hour. With this new information, Haymitch tries drawing a map in the sand of the known dangers.

That's when, while Wiress is cleaning a wire that Beetee took a knife in the back to get, the Careers attack.

Gloss knifes her, but he is all brawn and not brains, so he can't think quick enough to guard against Haymitch, who kills him in revenge. District 1 probably loved that. Cashmere gets axed by Johanna.

Brutus and Enobaira do not even slow down. Brutus goes right for Haymitch, but Finnick blocks the attack, getting himself wounding. District 2 then runs, and all at once, the Cornucopia spins, throwing their pursuers off-balance.

The now-quintet returns to the beach to re-group. Then, Cassiope hears a scream.

"Perri!" She takes off into the trees and Finnick follows her. But he hears voices too. He keeps calling for a woman named Annie, and it takes me a minute to realize, with horror, that this is a Gamemaker trap, and that the Annie in question is sitting right next to me. The pretty redhead whom Mags saved.

Finnick quickly figures out that the screams are not real, but is convinced that the Capitol got them somehow. Through torture. Or worse. But how could the Capitol have done this for Perri Green Abernathy. Perri Abernathy has been dead for years.

The jabber jays, birds who can copy human sounds, continue to torment the two Victors. They try to run out, but run into something similar to a forcefield, but not quite. It is a shield, trapping them in until the hour is up.

Haymitch picks Cassiope up as though she is a doll and rocks her.

"I heard your mom. Screaming for me," Cassiope admits.

Haymitch stares at her. "You heard my mom?"

By now, the second day is being set on, and eight more faces appear in the sky: Gloss. Cashmere. Wiress. Mags. The woman from 5. The woman from 6. The man from 7. The man from 10.

Less than forty-eight hours in, and we already are at the Final Eight: District 2, Beetee, Finnick, Johanna, Chaff and District 12.

Finnick never mentions Annie to anyone. But as he sits in the tide, watching the sun disappear beneath the clouds, Cassiope asks Johanna, and she explains. Annie Cresta won five years ago, but went insane in the process.

Beetee now calls his allies over and proposes a plan. They rig the lightning tree that signals high noon and midnight and run the wire to the water. Anyone in the vicinity will be electrocuted. And even if it doesn't work, the fish will be fried and lost as a food source.

The plan takes place that night. The tree is rigged with the wire, but after that, everything goes wrong. While Cassiope and Johanna are delivering the wire to the beach, the Careers attack. Johanna is killed, but Cassiope manages to frighten them away by knifing Enobaria. Brutus runs off, only to run into a hapless Chaff, whom the last Career kills.

In full view of Haymitch, who then kills Brutus in revenge for murdering his buddy.

Hearing four cannons, Finnick turns on Beetee. Cassiope and Haymitch run back to the tree to find that other than them, the pretty playboy from 4 is the only other one left.

My mentors put up a brave last stand. Cassiope slices Finnick, but not fatally, for she falls to his trident. Haymitch, mad with grief, puts up a fight.

One that Finnick barely manages to fend off.

Three more cannons sound - Beetee's belatedly - and Claudius Templesmith makes his announcement:

"Ladies and gentlemen, may I present the winner of the 75th Hunger Games, or Third Quarter Quell: Finnick Odair of District 4!"


	6. Live On

**Chapter 6: Live On**

Finnick is crowned the Victors of Victors. The girl shriek and chant his name as President Snow places the Crown on his head. I am still bitter about Cassiope and Haymitch's deaths; Peeta and I will receive their silver and bronze medals in a private ceremony with Snow later.

When the Victors are made to shake Finnick's hand, as is custom, Finnick smugly smirks at me when he takes my hand.

"Like the arena, Girl on Fire?"

I make a big show of wiping my hand on my dress, even though Peeta would want us to be good sports. "Not particularly. But you should. They must have built it especially for you." I say this with an edge of bitterness.

* * *

Returning to the Victors' Village, I one day bang on Peeta's door and impulsively propose marriage. "Let's have a Toasting," I demand. "No Capitol. Just we two. And maybe our families and Effie."

Peeta is surprised by my forwardness, but agrees. We marry in a private ceremony in the woods beyond the Meadow. It takes Capitol months to learn of the wedding.

* * *

They play in the Meadow. The little boy and little girl. They don't like their names, especially when I use them for scolding, but I tell them they should be proud of their names. They're named for Victors, and the children of two others.

"Cassiope Fletch Mellark, stop chasing your brother! Haymitch Abernathy Mellark, slow down!" I order.

I know my children are only playing a Game, but there are much worse Games to play. In my arms, is Peeta's and my new baby daughter... Rosemary.

The Second Rebellion started right after the Third Quarter Quell, which was deeply unpopular. It resulted in the abolishment of the Games, and the eventual takeover of Panem into a democracy. To his credit, Finnick fought for the rebels. He even married Annie Cresta, his fellow Victor who had escaped with us, and produced a son. But the father died too, in the fighting. So did all of Peeta's family, including Julie Fairchild Mellark. My sister, Prim. Mother is still alive, but we hardly speak now from where she is working on a hospital in District 4 and keeping an eye on Annie. She is re-married, last I heard, and is forging on. Happy, somewhat.

Oh, yes. There are much worse Games to play.


End file.
